When a company delivers a positive earnings report and increases its outlook for the full year, it’s usually a good bet that its stock will garner some buyers. But when a stock initially rallies on the news only to spend the rest of the day falling on heavy volume, we can surmise that something is not right.  That’s exactly what happened to Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) on Tuesday. #-ad_banner-# The restaurant operator announced better-than-expected earnings before the bell, increased its outlook and announced a new $500 million buyback plan. The stock instantly jumped more than 4% from Monday’s close. But… Read More

When a company delivers a positive earnings report and increases its outlook for the full year, it’s usually a good bet that its stock will garner some buyers. But when a stock initially rallies on the news only to spend the rest of the day falling on heavy volume, we can surmise that something is not right.  That’s exactly what happened to Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) on Tuesday. #-ad_banner-# The restaurant operator announced better-than-expected earnings before the bell, increased its outlook and announced a new $500 million buyback plan. The stock instantly jumped more than 4% from Monday’s close. But it was all downhill from there. By Tuesday’s close, shares had given up nearly all of those gains, closing up just 0.6%. While the media will report it as a gain on positive earnings news, the charts say otherwise. Bad action on good news is bearish. DRI, as well as a good deal of the restaurant sector, has been in a decline since the summertime. Darden peaked in June and fell through mid-July before settling into a sideways range. But within that range there were clues to suggest there was more pain ahead. First, the… Read More

I recently had the honor of taking over the reins for one of the most successful premium investment services in StreetAuthority’s 15-year history. For those who may not be familiar, this service is called The Daily Paycheck. And although I just took over this service, to be quite honest, I’ve been a big believer in the principles behind it for years. Many of our followers see the merits of the system, too. In fact, a large number of subscribers who have been with us since Day 1 — all the way back in December 2009. They’ve seen firsthand as the… Read More

I recently had the honor of taking over the reins for one of the most successful premium investment services in StreetAuthority’s 15-year history. For those who may not be familiar, this service is called The Daily Paycheck. And although I just took over this service, to be quite honest, I’ve been a big believer in the principles behind it for years. Many of our followers see the merits of the system, too. In fact, a large number of subscribers who have been with us since Day 1 — all the way back in December 2009. They’ve seen firsthand as the portfolio’s initial $200,000 stake has grown into the $330,000-plus portfolio it is today. New subscribers are now greeted with a portfolio of more than 50 securities. And the questions we get asked most are 1) How do I get started? and 2) Can I use this strategy if I have less than $200,000 to invest? The short answers to those questions are: slowly and absolutely.  Let me explain… — Sponsored Link — Why Do Dividend Payers Beat Other Stocks?​ Everyone knows that dividend payers crush other stocks. It’s not a matter of opinion. You can just look at the stats. Read More

Amazon (NYSE: AMZN) booked more than $107 billion in 2015 sales on over 300 million active customer accounts. The ecommerce giant is booking 20% annual sales growth as traditional retailers struggle and is predicted to surpass Macy’s (NYSE: M) as America’s top apparel seller next year. Analysts at Morgan Stanley found that the department store share of the apparel market has fallen by $30 billion over the last decade while Amazon and other online retailers have picked up over $28 billion in market share over the same period. #-ad_banner-#Retailers like Sears (Nasdaq: SHLD) and J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) have all… Read More

Amazon (NYSE: AMZN) booked more than $107 billion in 2015 sales on over 300 million active customer accounts. The ecommerce giant is booking 20% annual sales growth as traditional retailers struggle and is predicted to surpass Macy’s (NYSE: M) as America’s top apparel seller next year. Analysts at Morgan Stanley found that the department store share of the apparel market has fallen by $30 billion over the last decade while Amazon and other online retailers have picked up over $28 billion in market share over the same period. #-ad_banner-#Retailers like Sears (Nasdaq: SHLD) and J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) have all but vanished and other retail segments are feeling the squeeze. The $397 billion e-commerce leader has already started ramping up to steal sales from brick-and-mortar stores this holiday season with its second annual Prime Day. Research firm Forrester estimates that Amazon accounted for 60% of all online sales growth in the United States last year. But not all retailers may be feeling the bite of Amazon’s growth story. A few may even be able to beat Amazon on the ground and in the ‘net. Retail Categories And Companies Set To Win Some retail categories may fair better than others… Read More

If you’ve traded for some time, you know just how powerful and accurate chart patterns can be.  Technical patters are similar to the scarecrow in the “Wizard of Oz.” They may not “know” where the stock is supposed to be going, but they lead the way successfully because so many people trust in them, just as Dorothy trusted in the brainless-but-loveable character. Like the scarecrow, chart patterns are constructs of human actions. And while the scarecrow couldn’t make up his mind when it came to which path to take, certain chart patterns are very conclusive. They act almost like a… Read More

If you’ve traded for some time, you know just how powerful and accurate chart patterns can be.  Technical patters are similar to the scarecrow in the “Wizard of Oz.” They may not “know” where the stock is supposed to be going, but they lead the way successfully because so many people trust in them, just as Dorothy trusted in the brainless-but-loveable character. Like the scarecrow, chart patterns are constructs of human actions. And while the scarecrow couldn’t make up his mind when it came to which path to take, certain chart patterns are very conclusive. They act almost like a GPS leading you to a stock’s next move.  #-ad_banner-#Golden crosses and death crosses, in particular, are two very influential trend-changing technical formations. Both can cause big, intermediate-term moves in a stock. For those who may not be aware, golden crosses are a bullish formation in which the 50-day moving average crosses above the 200-day, with the stock above both. The death cross is when the 50-day drops below the 200-day, with the stock below both.  These are generally powerful signals. For instance, a recent golden cross in Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) led to a rally in the stock (my Profit Amplifier subscribers were… Read More

U.S. police departments face huge expectations. Aside from all of the performance scrutiny they’ve been under in recent years, they also face the same problems as other parts of our government institutions: they are under great pressure to reduce spending while also achieving strict regulatory targets. One of the best ways for police departments to help with all of these problems? Body cameras. #-ad_banner-#Recent studies  show that when police officers use body cameras it dramatically reduces use of force incidents. Researchers at the University of South Florida recently released the results of a yearlong pilot program with the Orlando Police… Read More

U.S. police departments face huge expectations. Aside from all of the performance scrutiny they’ve been under in recent years, they also face the same problems as other parts of our government institutions: they are under great pressure to reduce spending while also achieving strict regulatory targets. One of the best ways for police departments to help with all of these problems? Body cameras. #-ad_banner-#Recent studies  show that when police officers use body cameras it dramatically reduces use of force incidents. Researchers at the University of South Florida recently released the results of a yearlong pilot program with the Orlando Police Department. The study randomly selected 46 officers to wear body cameras and compared their behavior to 43 officers not equipped with body cameras. The results are telling. In the 12-month period from March 2014 through February 2015, use of force incidents dropped 53% with officers wearing body cameras. Civilian complaints against officers wearing body cameras fell 65%. A study across the Atlantic is even more convincing. The Cambridge University in England conducted a study of 2,000 officers from four UK police departments and two U.S. police departments. The study found a 93% drop in civilian complaints against officers wearing body… Read More

A couple of months ago, I introduced you to our newest expert analyst Genia Turanova. We brought Genia in to take the helm of two of our most important and successful premium newsletters (The Daily Paycheck and Game-Changing Stocks). And she hasn’t disappointed. In fact, one of her most recent picks for Game-Changing Stocks is up 20% in a matter of 10 trading days — and she believes there could be even more upside ahead. Before I tell you about that pick, I should also mention that another one of our strategists, options expert Jared Levy, has been following the… Read More

A couple of months ago, I introduced you to our newest expert analyst Genia Turanova. We brought Genia in to take the helm of two of our most important and successful premium newsletters (The Daily Paycheck and Game-Changing Stocks). And she hasn’t disappointed. In fact, one of her most recent picks for Game-Changing Stocks is up 20% in a matter of 10 trading days — and she believes there could be even more upside ahead. Before I tell you about that pick, I should also mention that another one of our strategists, options expert Jared Levy, has been following the very same stock for some time as well. And he’s recommending a safe way to play the upside the stock still has while also protecting against the downside.  —Sponsored Link— AGHI: First 243% Profits. Then 390%. Are 1,775% Gains Next?​ AGHI keeps making investors unbelievable gains. In less than a year, this stock has returned triple-digit gains… twice. Every time they get a little attention — share prices just don’t stop climbing. And this time 1,775% profits could be yours. Click here to learn more.  That stock in question is social… Read More

Editor’s note: In this week’s Market Outlook, John Kosar will lay out the reasons why investors should expect a near-term decline in stocks and why it’s not a good idea to put new money to work here on the long side. However, that doesn’t mean you need to sit on the sidelines waiting for a correction. Using a “backdoor” trading method, Jared Levy has turned similar declines into gains of 62.4% in nine days (2,532% annualized), 33.8% in four days (3,080.4% annualized) and 18.5% in a single day (6,759% annualized). If you’d like to get ahead of the next market… Read More

Editor’s note: In this week’s Market Outlook, John Kosar will lay out the reasons why investors should expect a near-term decline in stocks and why it’s not a good idea to put new money to work here on the long side. However, that doesn’t mean you need to sit on the sidelines waiting for a correction. Using a “backdoor” trading method, Jared Levy has turned similar declines into gains of 62.4% in nine days (2,532% annualized), 33.8% in four days (3,080.4% annualized) and 18.5% in a single day (6,759% annualized). If you’d like to get ahead of the next market correction, you can try his backdoor strategy with a 60-day, no-risk guarantee. Get the details here. The market took a breather last week following two consecutive weeks of gains, as most major U.S. stock indices finished just fractionally higher. The strongest performer was the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, which gained just 0.4%, while the small-cap Russell 2000 brought up the rear, losing 0.2%. #-ad_banner-#  Bigger picture, the S&P 500 remains situated right in the middle of a three-month period of sideways investor indecision as two key questions overhang… Read More

Baron Rothschild’s 18th century rule that, “The time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets,” is just as applicable today as it was 300 years ago. But today, we’re nearly eight years into a bull market and it’s tough finding value in stocks, let alone bargains around panic-selling. The S&P 500 has returned 273% adjusting for dividends since the 2009 low and individual sectors are trading at bubble-worthy highs. Even the healthcare sector, one of the worst performing of the year, has jumped 360% since 2009 and trades at 16-times trailing earnings. #-ad_banner-#But investors in one sector are… Read More

Baron Rothschild’s 18th century rule that, “The time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets,” is just as applicable today as it was 300 years ago. But today, we’re nearly eight years into a bull market and it’s tough finding value in stocks, let alone bargains around panic-selling. The S&P 500 has returned 273% adjusting for dividends since the 2009 low and individual sectors are trading at bubble-worthy highs. Even the healthcare sector, one of the worst performing of the year, has jumped 360% since 2009 and trades at 16-times trailing earnings. #-ad_banner-#But investors in one sector are in full panic-mode. That sector is facing a perfect storm of fundamental and political issues. Several companies within the group are facing threats to their very existence. Few investors are talking about the long-term upside in the group but one investment provides the opportunity to reduce your risk while still benefiting from the rebound. Dark Clouds Over European Banking European banks have lagged their U.S. peers since the 2009 recession. The slower economic recovery in the EU and continuing problems in Greece have weighed on the sector. While the European Central Bank was able to step in and avoid… Read More

Typically, I’m an optimistic, glass is half full kind of guy. I have to be. I’m an investment guy. Doesn’t mean I’m not realistic, though. In September 2011, Stifel Nicolaus macro strategist Barry Bannister published a report stating “We believe a ‘Depression’ began in 2000, moderated by U.S. reserve currency status and coordinated monetary and fiscal intervention.” That’s a mouthful. My translation: when the Tech Bubble burst, everything started heading downhill, culminating with the financial crisis of 2008. However, thanks to central bank and government policies like quantitative easing and TARP, things didn’t look or feel like Great Depression 2.0. … Read More

Typically, I’m an optimistic, glass is half full kind of guy. I have to be. I’m an investment guy. Doesn’t mean I’m not realistic, though. In September 2011, Stifel Nicolaus macro strategist Barry Bannister published a report stating “We believe a ‘Depression’ began in 2000, moderated by U.S. reserve currency status and coordinated monetary and fiscal intervention.” That’s a mouthful. My translation: when the Tech Bubble burst, everything started heading downhill, culminating with the financial crisis of 2008. However, thanks to central bank and government policies like quantitative easing and TARP, things didn’t look or feel like Great Depression 2.0.  #-ad_banner-#In 2008 and 2009, there was even a lot of talk about massive, New Deal style “shovel ready” projects to help rebuild America’s rapidly aging infrastructure, which would create jobs and stimulate all facets of the nation’s foundering economy. A hybrid federal/municipal bond called a Build America Bond (BAB) was created to finance some of the projects that actually made it to the street.  But most of the projects never materialized and our infrastructure continues to crumble. Flint, Michigan’s lead-tainted drinking water is stark evidence. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, American infrastructure, from dams to roads to… Read More